'Pardon the inconvenience; we're rebuilding' -- plenty -- in St. Paul

In a mobile billboard for St. Paul development, the first light-rail test train rolled down University Avenue last month, passed the renovated Union Depot and glided into a new downtown maintenance facility.

In all, more than $2 billion in development is planned, under way or recently finished in St. Paul. And though civic leaders bemoan the loss of the downtown Macy's department store, they have rolled up their sleeves on nearly 60 major projects across the city.

"I think the new slogan for St. Paul should be, 'Pardon the inconvenience, we're rebuilding,' " Mayor Chris Coleman said at a recent campaign event at the downtown Pioneer-Endicott buildings, which are undergoing renovation.

The biggest of the projects is the $957 million Central Corridor light-rail line. It's key to the success of much of that development, because many of the projects lie along the transit route or within a few blocks.

What to look for in the coming months? Continued construction of the Penfield apartments and West Side Flats. Work on a Lowertown ballpark, a new Lunds grocery and the conversion of the Rayette Building. Improvements to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and hopes for state funding for expansions at the Minnesota Children's Museum and Metropolitan State University.

And much, much more.

1. PEDRO PARK

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The old Pedro's Luggage at 10th and Robert streets is gone, but city officials plan to make good on a plan to develop a park named after company founder Carl Pedro Sr. A design should be picked by this summer. Pedro's closed in 2008 and gave the land to the city as long as the site becomes a park by 2014.

2. THE PENFIELD

By December, the six-story, 254-unit Penfield apartment building could open at the former site of the old police and fire headquarters on 10th Street. The city took over development of the project after its planner backed out.

A tax-increment financing district will recycle 25 years of property taxes back into the $62 million development. A fitness center, rooftop party deck with a dog walk and other luxury amenities are on tap - including a Lunds grocery.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' 306-seat McKnight Theatre will be torn down this summer, making room for a 1,100-seat concert hall. With seating 360 degrees around a center platform, the new hall will be ready by late 2014.

Crews have started on a three-story building for dressing rooms and other behind-the-scenes functions.

The Westgate light rail station along University Avenue in St. Paul. (Pioneer Press: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo)

Construction will cost about $40 million. The overall fundraising goal is $79 million, with the balance supporting the Arts Partnership endowment.

The state pledged $16 million in 2010, and the Ordway is seeking an additional $5 million this year in state bond funds. The city of St. Paul has awarded the Ordway $3 million in Cultural STAR grants over a 10-year period.

4. ST. PAUL SAINTS BALLPARK

Boosted by $25 million in state economic development funding, the city plans to demolish the old Diamond Products/Gillette building at Fifth and Broadway streets and build a regional ballpark.

The St. Paul Saints hope to begin play in the $54 million, 7,000-seat ballpark in the spring of 2015. The St. Paul Port Authority plans to take over ownership of the old Midway Stadium on Energy Park Drive and convert it into a use more in keeping with the light industrial area.

5. WEST SIDE FLATS

After treading water for eight years, Sherman Associates has started work on West Side Flats, a mix of market-rate and affordable apartments across the Mississippi River from downtown. The $35.4 million project's first phase calls for a 178-unit building with 6,185 square feet of commercial space at Fillmore Avenue and Wabasha Street.

A second phase would create a one- to five-story building for housing or commercial space.

A $23 million loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is financing the majority of the development, and about $10 million in grants and loans will come from the city, the Metropolitan Council and the state. Occupancy is likely by winter 2014.

6. LAFAYETTE BRIDGE

The Lafayette Bridge is being replaced; a $130.4 million project that includes redecking the Plato Boulevard and Eaton Street bridges and resurfacing the Concord Street bridge. Began in 2011.

7. PIONEER-ENDICOTT

Rich Pakonen and Clint Blaiser are transforming the 120-year-old Pioneer-Endicott buildings at Fourth and Robert streets into 234 apartments. Pak Properties has signed on the Minnesota Museum of American Art and is negotiating with potential tenants to fill about 30,000 square feet of commercial space.

To fund the $40 million project, the developer received tax-increment finance funding from the city, state and federal historic tax credits, and money from the Met Council for cleanup of asbestos and lead-based paint. Pak also bought and reopened the Jackson Street parking ramp. Expect to see artists soon occupying skyway level "live-work" studios and showing off their craft.

8. PARK SQUARE THEATRE

Park Square Theatre is looking to expand in the Historic Hamm Building's lower level by adding the new Andy Boss Thrust Stage. The 13,700-square-foot auditorium at 20 W. Seventh Place would include a stage that puts the audience on three sides, 200 seats, a lobby and production support spaces such as dressing and a rehearsal hall.

The $3.1 million project received a $180,000 STAR grant from the city of St. Paul. Construction is expected to begin this summer and wrap up by Dec. 1.

9. UNITED HOSPITAL / ALLINA HEALTH

Allina Health and the United Hospital Foundation are spending $18.5 million to expand the average size of 18 operating rooms from 350 square feet to 600 square feet, their first significant upgrade since the 1970s. The hospital, at 333 N. Smith Ave., expects to complete the project by February 2014.

10. GILLETTE CHILDREN'S

Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare completed $5 million in renovation and expansion projects in 2012, including improvements to an orthopedic/surgical inpatient unit at 200 E. University Ave. Renovation of a second unit will be completed this year. Gillette is also renovating the adult Lifetime Clinic at 435 Phalen Blvd., and an office at 455 Phalen Blvd. Together with projects in Minnetonka and Maple Grove, the total construction price tag is $8.8 million.

11. REGIONS HOSPITAL

Regions Hospital is in the midst of a $4.2 million remodel of its cancer center at 640 Jackson St. The project will expand the 10,730-square-foot cancer center to 17,950 square feet. In addition, a two-story, 8,000-square-foot clinic in Highland Park will provide primary care and radiology, with 10 exams rooms and a procedure room, for a total price tag of $1.7 million.

12. ST. PAUL ATHLETIC CLUB

The St. Paul Athletic Club at 340 Cedar St. reopened in February after more than a year of extensive remodeling. John Rupp bought the 12-story, 96-year-old building in 1995. The building also is home to the College of St. Scholastica, the Global Language Institute and the Hotel 340, which Rupp operates with a 400-seat ballroom, 39 guest rooms and 20 more planned. Not far from downtown, Rupp hopes to reopen the historic Commodore Bar and Restaurant at 79 N. Western Ave. at the end of the year.

13. TWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION

Twin Cities Public Television at 172 E. Fourth St. is close to reaching its $30 million capital campaign goal, said TPT spokeswoman Elle Krause-Lyons. A $9 million state bonding request could complete the campaign, launching an $18 million remodel of the 25-year-old facility, including 4,500 square feet of space for public screenings, art exhibits, concerts and lectures. TPT also hopes to move its "storefront" from the skyway level to the street.

14. POST OFFICE BUILDING

Developer Jim Stolpestad has signed a general purchase agreement for the 17-story central post office building on Kellogg Boulevard with the goal of creating at least 250 units of market-rate apartments. The sale of the building recently vacated by the Postal Service could close in July.

Stolpestad has said the huge building could accommodate a number of additional uses, and he'll study downtown's commercial, retail and office markets - as well as public and private financing options - very closely.

15. KELLOGG SQUARE

In late December, Edina-based Bigos Management bought the 32-story, 450-apartment Kellogg Square building at Robert Street and Kellogg Boulevard for $51 million. Improvements - creating a fitness center in former commercial space and updates to public spaces and apartments - could be complete by the end of 2013, said marketing director Tanya Woessner.

16. CROWNE PLAZA

In March, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe bought St. Paul's largest downtown hotel - the Crowne Plaza on Kellogg Boulevard, as well as the Double Tree by Hilton on Minnesota Street. The band, which has hired Graves Hospitality Corp. as managers, said in March it plans to take 12 to 24 months to study significant renovations for the Crowne Plaza, including a possible "destination restaurant." Improvements to the Double Tree could happen sooner.

17. CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

Administrators at the Minnesota Children's Museum are feeling "cautiously optimistic" about landing funding this year for a expansion at 10 W. Seventh St. A state bonding proposal would dedicate $14 million to increase program, gallery and cafe space about 50 percent. If funded, the museum would break ground in the spring of 2015 and close for 3{ months at the height of construction before reopening in the winter of 2016.

18. A'BULAE

Downtown developer Dave Brooks is taking the top floor and rooftop of his renovated Lowertown Garage parking ramp at 255 E. Sixth St. and converting it into a high-end, "SoHo-style" events space for the A'Bulae wedding and corporate planning group. The renovated ramp, once condemned, could start hosting weddings in June. Brooks is still talking to restaurateurs and other tenants about filling additional space on the fifth floor, rooftop and ground level.

19. RAYETTE BUILDING

Sherman Associates plans to convert the century-old Rayette warehouse at 261 E. Fifth St. into 88 lofts, of which 20 percent will be affordable to residents at or below 80 percent of area median income. Boosted by financial support from the Met Council, the $23 million project includes street-level retail space and parking underground and in the back of the first floor. City officials expect the building, which has been used in recent years as a parking ramp, to reopen in 2014.

> ALONG THE CENTRAL CORRIDOR

20. CENTRAL CORRIDOR LRT

Minnesota's second light-rail line is more than 90 percent complete. Dubbed the Green Line, it will run for 11 miles from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis, much of it along University Avenue. By mid-2014, the Met Council aims to have passengers boarding the $957 million project, with 2013 mostly dedicated to electrical work and rail car testing, as well as completion of a maintenance facility in Lowertown.

21. UNION DEPOT

Ramsey County and Mortenson Construction reopened the century-old St. Paul Union Depot toward the end of 2012, but the cavernous waiting room off Kellogg Boulevard awaits the arrival of Amtrak later this year. Christos restaurant reopened in the Fourth Street lobby. Metro Transit and Jefferson Bus Lines have set up shop, and the Green Line will stop out front in 2014. Greyhound announced it wouldn't relocate into the complex, a symbolic blow to the $243 million project. Retail tenants are in the works.

22. SEARS

Sears Holding Corp. in January unveiled plans to redevelop its 14-acre property near the Capitol. The general concept, which hasn't been finalized, includes adding 111,700 square feet of retail space spanning two buildings on the southeast side of the existing store and two more to the southwest. Sears would also add a four-story office building on the northeast corner of the site, and 121 apartments and 18 townhomes in the northwest corner. The Sears Auto Center would be relocated to the Sears store itself. The plan includes a proposed four-level, 586-space parking garage. Another 700 parking spaces would remain after the remodeling.

23. OLD HOME DAIRY

Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corp. has bought the Old Home Dairy site at 300-378 W. University Ave. and partnered with the Sand Cos. to build 70 units of mixed-income housing. The $32 million project would include 57 affordable apartments. Model Cities, a nonprofit, would add 13 townhomes in a later phase.

The project would include 12,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor, and preserve Old Home's vacant central building with the help of state and federal historic tax credits. The developers have asked the city to lift zoning restrictions, currently limiting the height to 35 feet, for a total height of 45 feet.

24. CENTRAL EXCHANGE

Model Cities is proposing a $9 million, three-story development on the north side of University Avenue between Avon and Grotto streets. The Central Exchange project would include underground parking and 6,800 square feet of commercial space, as well as 27 affordable "workforce housing" apartments.

The project recently received a $65,000 state grant, but Model Cities is still working to secure financing on the overall project. A second Model Cities affordable housing and commercial development would span four floors at 839 W. University Ave. near Victoria Street.

25. PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING

Project for Pride in Living hopes to build affordable housing along the light-rail line across the street from the Midway Super Target. PPL plans to begin construction in 2014 of a block-long, two-building, four-story development at 1333 W. University Ave., the site of the former Midway Chevrolet used car lot.

The $23 million project would offer 108 units of affordable rentals, underground parking and more than 13,000 square feet of commercial space. The nonprofit received a $750,000 Met Council grant for site acquisition, infrastructure and placemaking, and a $2.5 million grant for acquisition and environmental cleanup.

26. MIDWAY CORNERS

Near University Avenue and Albert Street, the old Midway Chevrolet showroom at 1389 W. University Ave. is being renovated into commercial space for new business tenants, at a price tag of $2.4 million. The Met Council assisted with clean-up grants.

27. EPISCOPAL HOMES

The former home of Porky's drive-in at 1890 W. University Ave. will soon become 173 units of senior housing. Episcopal Homes plans to add the $45 million project to its already sizable campus. The new building will include 50 affordable senior apartments, as well as 63 catered-living units, 20 memory-care units and 40 skilled-nursing units, a therapy pool, fitness center and public coffee shop.

Groundbreaking on the project occurred May 1. The Metropolitan Council contributed $1.5 million, plus $500,000 to reconstruct the adjoining Iris Park and improve traffic flow on Lynnhurst Avenue. Additional funding came from HUD, the city of St. Paul, Minnesota Housing, local foundations, private donations, and a tax-exempt bond issue through the city.

28. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

With a groundbreaking scheduled for Thursday, May 9, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity plans a $9.5 million headquarters at the former site of the Zimmerman Building, 1954 W. University Ave.

The nonprofit acquired the building in April for $785,000 and has torn it down. A 27,000-square-foot, three-story building could open in early 2014.

29. PRIOR CROSSING

At Prior and University avenues, the Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative is fundraising for a new $9 million, 44-unit homeless youth housing development. The collaborative hopes that Prior Crossing at 1949 W. University Ave. will fill a need for late teens and early twenty-somethings.

House of Hope Presbyterian Church, which has pledged $500,000 over five years, and Amherst H. Wilder are major partners. A Met Council "Transit Oriented Development" grant provided $927,000, leaving about $8 million left to raise. The existing building could be demolished this fall.

30. 2700 THE AVENUE

Wellington Management owns the site at 2700 W. University Ave., but plans to sell the lot to Flaherty and Collins, an Indianapolis developer. The plan once called for a nine-story building. The latest proposal, still in design phase, would create a five-level, 230-unit housing structure. Twenty percent of the units would be affordable to residents at 50 percent of area median income.

31. CHITTENDEN AND EASTMAN BUILDING

Built in 1917, the wood-frame Chittenden and Eastman Building at 2402 W. University Ave. has housed furniture and mattress companies and more recently seven floors of art studios. Its 139,000 square feet has now been transformed into 104 market-rate lofts. It reopened Jan. 4.

Developer Jim Stolpestad and Exeter Realty Co.'s $19 million conversion relied on state and federal historic tax credits, as well as a small grant from the Met Council, obtained through St. Paul, to clean up asbestos, lead-based paint and other hazardous material.

> IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS

32. HMONG COLLEGE PREP ACADEMY

The Hmong College Prep Academy at 1515 Brewster St. is building a 77,000-square-foot addition that would house a second lunchroom, a second gym, a performance space, technology lab and 28 classrooms. The school also plans to remodel its existing facility and buy a parking lot. The $17.5 million project, which moved forward with the help of bonds issued by St. Paul but paid for by the school, could wrap up by the end of the year.

33. GRAND AND FINN

Developer Graham Merry is building a $3.1 million, five-story student apartment building at Grand Avenue and Finn Street, near the University of St. Thomas. The 20 apartments are each four-bedroom units. Merry last year expressed interest in adding a second building, but the St. Paul City Council responded with a temporary moratorium on additional five-story apartment buildings along Grand between Cretin and Fairview avenues.

34. SCHMIDT BREWERY

Dominium Development is renovating the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Co. at 882 W. Seventh St. The Bottle House and Brew House will be converted into 247 affordable housing units for artists, and 13 new townhomes will be built on vacant land. Full occupancy is expected by summer 2014. The $123 million project relies on a mix of public and private funding, including a tax-increment financing district.

Blue Ox group plans mini-golf at West Seventh and Toronto streets. Boosted by $1.89 million in no-interest city loans and help from the Met Council and state sources, the Fort Road Federation has completed repairs and clean up of the Rathskeller. They're marketing the building with hopes of converting it into possible office, restaurant and event space. They're also marketing the Keg House and adjacent property.

35. FORD MOTOR SITE

After 86 years, the Ford assembly plant in Highland Park shut down in December 2011. The 550,000-square-foot paint shop building may begin coming down this month following months of interior environmental remediation. Demolition of the main plant will follow.

Ford will fund an evaluation of development scenarios and traffic intensity, and anticipates putting the site on the market in 2015. Most folks expect its future to include a mix of homes, industry, commerce and parks. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has spoken of creating a model for eco-friendly urban development.

36. ROLLING HILLS

Boosted by a $1 million loan and $1 million in tax credits from St. Paul, Lutheran Social Services' first affordable-housing project in the city will be a $14.6 million rehab of the Rolling Hills apartment complex. The six buildings at 1319-1335 Westminster Street were built in 1964 and house about 30 to 40 ethnic Karen families from Myanmar. The development, a partnership with Clint Blaiser and Rich Pakonen, has 108 units. Lutheran Social Services plans to add a community building and an onsite medical clinic. Financing could close this month and construction could finish in early 2014.

37. PAYNE-MARYLAND PROJECT

Construction has begun on the first phase of the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department's $14 million Payne-Maryland project, which includes a 41,000-square-foot library and recreation center, and could wrap up by January. The Payne-Maryland Partnership seeks donors for a second phase, which could house social services, educational space and a worship area.

38. KENDALL'S ACE HARDWARE

Kendall's Ace Hardware relocated to the corner of Payne and Phalen Boulevard, at a cost of roughly $2 million from private, city and county coffers. Kendall Crosby says business is booming at his new location, which is separated from the popular new Ward 6 restaurant by a city-owned lot. Together with the new Phalen Senior Lofts, the projects form a significant makeover for the gateway to the East Side.

39. CAYUGA PROJECT

The Minnesota Department of Transportation project will reconstruct Interstate 35E between University Avenue and Maryland Avenue. The $116 million project, which gets underway this spring and wraps up in 2015, includes replacing several bridges. The new roadway will also have a MnPASS carpool lane added in each direction.

40. VICTORIA PARK

The former ExxonMobil tank farm and adjoining Koch/Flint Hills land off Otto Avenue and West Seventh Street is gradually being converted into new uses. Brighton Development Corp. has rented out townhomes and sold parcels. Chase Real Estate is building 215 apartments in two three-story buildings, a $30 million project. Andy Chase may buy two additional acres for future development. Another five adjoining acres could house a new city park or playing field. Nova Classical Academy has merged its two campuses into one on the site. A Mississippi Market opened in 2009, and the Shalom campus offers independent and assisted living.

41. STARKEY STREET

Near Plato Boulevard and Wabasha Street, the building at 222 Starkey St. is being renovated by Bolander Construction to be leased to small businesses. The Met Council and city STAR grant funds have contributed to the $1 million project.

42. ASSOCIATED BANK

Associated Bank at Snelling and Selby avenues recently selected the Ryan Cos. for a block-length makeover, with tentative plans for apartments, a grocery and other businesses. A bank spokeswoman offered few details, and a construction timetable remains unknown. An official with the city's Planning and Economic Development Department said, "Plans seem very preliminary."

43. URBAN FARM

J&J Distributing plans to partner with Bright Farms on a $2 million, 40,000-square-foot urban greenhouse mostly dedicated to tomato production. Soil contamination threw a wrench in the works, but Bright Farms officials say they expect to see remediation and construction underway this month at 653 Rice St. and wrap up this year. The distributor upgraded lighting and cooling units and added a new cutting-room floor, all part of an $8.5 million project funded with loans and aid from federal, state, Port Authority and city sources.

44. MONTESSORI TRAINING CENTER

The Montessori Center of Minnesota at 1611 Ames Ave. has added a new roof, a four-season greenhouse and new modular classrooms designed by Alchemy Architects. The goal is to expand the center's K-3 charter school, the Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School, by a grade level each year through 2015, when it will be a K-6 school. The projects, bearing a price tag of $1.6 million, were supported in part by the I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation, Ecolab and the city of St. Paul STAR grant program.

45. PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING

Project for Pride in Living finished a three-story, 44-apartment building at West Seventh and Springfield streets in December. The $11.2 million Fort Road Flats includes 16 units for homeless families. Met Council and state aid helped with cleanup; the city's Housing and Redevelopment Authority in 2010 approved $1.5 million to help buy and demolish six houses and a gas station.

46. COMO ZOO

The Como Park Zoo and Conservatory opened the $2.8 million Ordway Gardens addition to the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in April, thanks in part to the fund raising of the Como Friends group. The new wing offers year-round views of one of the top curated Bonsai collections in the country. The zoo's $11 million gorilla forest exhibit - which includes 13,000 square feet of outdoor space - will open in June. Seven gorillas will live in the largest all-mesh gorilla enclosure in the country.

47. LILYDALE REGIONAL PARK

Work on the first phase of improvements to Lilydale Regional Park began April 29 and should be done in August. The $2.1 million project includes construction of Lilydale Road and paved trails and the capping of the Lilydale dump site. The city expects to break ground on an additional trail project in June - the $3.6 million Trout Brook Regional Trail and Nature Sanctuary between Maryland Avenue and Cayuga Street. As that work gets underway, the $2.9 million Cherokee Regional Trail project from Annapolis Street to Plato Boulevard via Ohio Street should be about complete.

48. HAMM'S BREWERY

The century-old Hamm's Brewery is attracting new tenants. Urban Organics is constructing a lettuce and fish farm in building No. 17 at 680 E. Minnehaha Ave., and city officials expect production to begin this summer. Adapting the city-owned building has been a $1.2 million project, using $300,000 in city grants and loans. Water from fish tanks will be used to grow plants and then be recycled back to the fish tanks. Flat Earth Brewery has an agreement to relocate and expand into the brewery. Other companies working with the city include a bottled water group and a distillery.

49. SUMMIT BREWERY

On May 1, the first four of 12 fermentation tanks were installed at the Summit Brewing Co. at 910 Montreal Circle. Each tank holds 600 barrels of beer, and the overall project will double production capacity to 240,000 barrels. Summit's $13 million expansion includes adding more than 7,600 square feet of cellar space. The project is expected to be complete by July.

50. METRO STATE

Metropolitan State University's construction of a $17 million, 800-car parking ramp on Bates Avenue is scheduled to begin in July. A proposed Science Education Center could also break ground in July, contingent on $34 million in requested state funding. The building would likely include a skyway over Sixth Street to Founders Hall. An $11.6 million, 27,000-square-foot student center could break ground in July 2014.

51. MACALESTER ARTS CENTER

Concert and gallery space in the remodeled Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center was completed in October, and Macalester College has moved on to $26.5 million in additional construction. Work at 1600 Grand Ave. includes the $15 million renovation and expansion of the adjoining studio arts building with a third floor addition, and $5 million for a new boiler.

52. CROSBY-BLOCK BUILDING

Built in the 1880s and almost torn down eight years ago because of neglect, the wedge-shaped Crosby-Block building at 1956 Feronia Ave. in Merriam Park reopened at the end of March as transitional housing. The Transition Homes Corp. will oversee up to 25 residents recovering from mental illness and chemical dependency. Improvements to the three-level, 12,000-square-foot building cost $1.1 million.

> PORT AUTHORITY

53. SOUTHPORT TERMINAL

St. Paul Port Authority recently added a second dock wall to the Southport Terminal slip, a $5 million project that created an added 1,192 lineal feet of workspace. Form-A-Feed Inc. is leasing space to operate an animal feed and fertilizer handling and mixing center, an investment of about $1 million in added construction.

54. GERDAU STEEL

Gerdau Steel began a $50 million upgrade to its 1678 Red Rock Road plant. Auxiliary buildings are done, and excavation for a new main building starts this month. A new caster will be commissioned in early 2014. St. Paul was prioritized over its other U.S. plants following outreach from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the St. Paul Planning and Economic Development Department and a $500,000 forgivable loan from the Port Authority. The city applied to the Minnesota Investment Fund for an additional forgivable loan of $250,000.

55. MATSUURA MACHINERY

Japanese machine tool manufacturer Matsuura Machinery USA will lease 38,000 square feet at the River Bend Business Center at Randolph Avenue below Shepard Road. The company's U.S. headquarters and technical center has hired 16 staff, with plans to add 14 full-time technical positions within three years.

56. MERIDIAN

Industrial Equities is building a 68,000-square-foot Meridian industrial project in the Pelham Business Center at 650 Pelham Road. The $5 million project is expected to create at least 68 new jobs on a site that formerly supported 12 employees.

57. WEST SIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES

West Side Community Health Services Inc. has completed a 34,000-square-foot medical, dental and mental health services clinic in the Beacon Bluff Business Center. The new East Side Family Health Clinic is expected to serve 5,000 patients. The Port Authority, with the Local Initiatives Support Corp., helped finance construction with $11 million in tax credits.

58. PIER FOUNDRY

The Port Authority received and disbursed $8 million from the Minnesota Commerce Department for its "Trillion BTU" energy conservation program. The funds helped provide $17 million in energy-saving loans to 32 companies in the Xcel Energy service area. Among them, Pier Foundry at 51 State St. added a new furnace and clean room, for a total project cost of $3.5 million.

59. ENERGY PARK

The Energy Park Business Center is working on an $8 million enhancement to its heating and cooling system. The Port Authority, which owns Energy Park Utility Co., is adding two heating and cooling pipes to the two-pipe District Energy system to serve businesses and residents in 25 buildings. Construction is expected to be completed by the fall.

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.

Drilling into a wall to install some stripping, Dave Haider is converting part of the old Hamm's Brewery into an aquaponic garden where he raises organic lettuce and tilapia at the old Minnehaha Ave brewery Tuesday afternoon May 7, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)